Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be the largest ever investment in clean energy transmission and addressing legacy pollution in U.S. history, first ever federal electric vehicle infrastructure investment
Package includes provisions from Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act to begin electrifying nation’s school bus fleet
CLEAN ENERGY: $65 billion investment in clean energy transmission, upgrading electrical grid
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: $7.5 billion to build out a national network of EV chargers
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $21 billion for environmental remediation to clean up legacy pollution that disproportionately harms Black and Latino communities
CLIMATE RESILIENCY: Over $50 billion to protect against wildfires, drought, floods, and other climate disasters
Senator Murray: “This bill is a crucial first step towards electrifying our school buses and ferries, building out our electric vehicle infrastructure, modernizing our electrical grid, and beginning to clean up pollution in communities of color.”
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), today helped pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which includes a $65 billion investment in clean energy, $7.5 billion investment electric vehicles (EVs) and EV infrastructure, a $21 billion investment in environmental remediation as well as other environmental justice provisions, and more than $50 billion towards climate resiliency improvements. The bill also includes key provisions from Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act to start electrifying our nation’s school bus fleet, investing $5 billion in zero emission and clean buses. As chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Murray fought to secure provisions in the legislation to prioritize funding for clean electric school buses to communities hardest hit by pollution.
“Between the recent heat wave, droughts, and wildfires in Washington state, it’s clear that the climate crisis is here and we have to take action. This bill is a crucial first step as we work to transition to clean energy, cut carbon emissions, build more resilient infrastructure and communities, and create good-paying union jobs. Between my Clean School Bus Act, the largest ever federal investment in clean energy transmission, and the largest investment in climate resiliency in our nation’s history, there’s a lot of important progress here,” said Senator Murray. “But we need to meet this moment with the urgency it demands. I am determined to deliver a landmark investment in climate action to President Biden. That means funding critical proposals like a Civilian Climate Corps, a national clean energy standard, new clean energy and vehicle tax incentives, and much more if we are serious about protecting our planet for current and future generations.”
For more details on the climate provisions in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, see below.
Electric Buses and Ferries
American school buses play a critical role in expanding access to education, but they are also a significant source of pollution. The legislation Includes key provisions from Senator Murray’s Clean School Bus Act, which will deliver thousands of electric school buses nationwide, including in rural communities, helping school districts across the country buy clean, American-made, zero emission buses, and replace the yellow school bus fleet for America’s children. The legislation also invests $5 billion in zero emission and clean buses and $2.5 billion for ferries. Senator Murray also worked to include language that would prioritize funding to low-income school districts and Tribal schools.
These investments will drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles, creating jobs and supporting domestic manufacturing, while also removing diesel buses from some of our most vulnerable communities. In addition, they will help the more than 25 million children and thousands of bus drivers who breathe polluted air on their rides to and from school. Diesel air pollution is linked to asthma and other health problems that hurt our communities and cause students to miss school, particularly in communities of color and Tribal communities—in her role as Senate Education Committee Chair, Senator Murray fought to secure key provision to ensure the bill will target prioritize funding for communities hardest hit by pollution as we transition to clean, electric school buses.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure
The bill invests $7.5 billion to build out the first-ever national network of EV chargers in the United States and is a critical element in the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to accelerate the adoption of EVs to address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs. The bill will provide funding for deployment of EV chargers along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop. Federal funding will have a particular focus on rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities. Washington state would expect to receive $71 million over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the state, and also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.
Environmental Remediation
In thousands of rural and urban communities around the country, hundreds of thousands of former industrial and energy sites are now idle – sources of blight and pollution. 26% of Black Americans and 29% of Hispanic Americans live within 3 miles of a Superfund site, a higher percentage than for Americans overall. Proximity to a Superfund site can lead to elevated levels of lead in children’s blood. The legislation invests $21 billion in environmental remediation, making the largest investment in addressing the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods in American history, creating good-paying union jobs in hard-hit energy communities and advancing economic and environmental justice. The bill includes funds to clean up Superfund and brownfield sites, reclaim abandoned mine land and cap orphaned gas wells.
Power Infrastructure
As the recent heat wave in the Pacific Northwest demonstrated, our aging electric grid needs urgent modernization. A Department of Energy study found that power outages cost the U.S. economy up to $70 billion annually. The legislation’s roughly $65 billion investment includes the single largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history. It upgrades our power infrastructure, including by building thousands of miles of new, resilient transmission lines to facilitate the expansion of renewable energy. It creates a new Grid Deployment Authority, invests in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and promotes smart grid technologies that deliver flexibility and resilience. It invests in demonstration projects and research hubs for next generation technologies like advanced nuclear, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen.
Climate Resiliency
People across Washington state have felt the effects of climate change this summer, as the Pacific Northwest was hit by a record heat wave and is still feeling the effects of major drought and forest fires. Last year alone, the United States faced 22 extreme weather and climate-related disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each – a cumulative price tag of nearly $100 billion. People of color are more likely to live in areas most vulnerable to flooding and other climate change-related weather events. The legislation makes our communities safer and our infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change and cyber-attacks, with an investment of over $50 billion. This includes funds to protect against droughts, floods and wildfires, in addition to a major investment in weatherization. The bill is the largest investment in the resilience of physical and natural systems in American history.
Senator Murray worked with other Western lawmakers to ensure the bill includes a historic investment to help fight and manage wildfires in the immediate-term. Of the $50 billion, the bill invests $8 billion specifically in wildfire risk reduction by providing funding for community wildfire defense grants, mechanical thinning, controlled burns, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program, and firefighting resources.
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